A recent march in Mayagüez, at the western end of Puerto Rico, in favor of gender equity organized by Paz para la Mujer. Taken from their Facebook page.

The announcement on February 25 that Rafael Román Meléndez, Puerto Rico's Secretary of Education, signed Circular Letter No. 19-2014-2015, which makes the inclusion of gender perspective an integral part of the curriculum in public schools, was great news for the country's many people and organizations that champion gender equity.

Below is the complete document:

The Coordinadora Paz para la Mujer, a coalition of many different organizations dedicated to eradicating violence against women, also celebrated the news and offered to help the Department of Education in its work implementing the necessary changes:

We recognize that the public policy adopted by the Department of Education is the result of a tireless struggle of groups of women and organizations that for decades have believed and defended the human rights of all people. The endorsement is also very helpful in advancing gender-based violence prevention work that is greatly dependent on education from an early age. We are happy to collaborate with the Education Department and we will keep on educating communities and professionals to create awareness on the gender perspective and its benefits.

Even though the [circular] letter isn't an end in itself (the most important phase, implementation, is only now beginning, after all), it is no less certain that this step is a tremendous instrument in favor of human rights in Puerto Rico.

This victory for gender equity rights was not easily won. Conservative religious groups lobbied intensely against the inclusion of the gender perspective in the curriculum public schools. Their stance against the Department of Education's plans was based in part on fears that the change would somehow infringe on people's right to educate their own children according to particular moral or spiritual beliefs. Supporters of the reforms say these worries are baseless. Gender perspective in education, they say, is nothing more than teaching children that everyone should be treated with equality and respect, regardless of their gender. It is not only a human rights issue, according to proponents, but an extremely urgent national concern in a country where so many women and girls are victims of gender-based violence every year.

The lack of an education that addresses gender equity has disturbing implications. Human rights activist Amárilis Pagán writes on her blog about the “blame-the-victim” mentality that permeates Puerto Rico's mainstream media, saying it's a direct result of the absence of the gender perspective in most people's education:

The demonization of women and of our bodies has grave consequences. It implies, firstly, our placement in a situation of moral inferiority that justifies the violence we receive. That is where criticisms against victims of gender-based violence and the justification of their aggressors come from. We are violated because we provoke, we are killed because we disobey, and we are discriminated against because we don't conform to certain conduct expected of us.

A prominent example of such unequal treatment occurred earlier this year when female singer Ivania Zayas was run over and killed by a car in the early hours of the morning. When a police lieutenant assigned to her case was interviewed on television, he said, “One of the things we have to investigate is just what was a lady doing crossing that street at that hour on her way home.” On that occasion, poet and blogger Guillermo Rebollo-Gil wrote a strong critique of the lieutenant's choice of words:

Honestly, the lieutenant's words at the press conference imply that the Puerto Rican Police have a particular taste for witch hunts—for wasting their limited resources because of their prejudices on determining what the appropriate habits should be for “good women.” And apparently, according to the lieutenant, good women do not die run over by cars at one in the morning, because good women are in their homes at that hour, or at least, suitably accompanied.

Hopefully, with the new gender perspective policy now in place in Puerto Rico's public school system, comments like this, and the thinking behind them that cause so much damage, will someday be a thing of the past, along with gender-based violence.

Maduro's remarks come on the heels of social media rumors that the release of political prisoner Oscar López Rivera may be around the corner. On December 24, Venezuelan news agency TeleSUR announced that negotiations were underway to release López Rivera, helped along by the Uruguayan government. There has been no follow-up on the story by any other news agency as of this writing, however. It should be noted that this is not the first time that president Maduro has advocated for Oscar López Rivera's release.

Meanwhile, activists working for López Rivera's release geared up to start the new year with a storm of social media activity on January 6, the day of López Rivera's 72nd birthday, with La Respuesta and the Boricua Human Rights Network calling on users to post messages urging the US government to free López Rivera on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, Tumblr, and other social networking services. The goal was to share 100,000 messages related to López Rivera in one day.

López Rivera, 72, has been imprisoned for 33 years in the United States, where he is serving a 70-year sentence for charges of “seditious conspiracy” and “conspiracy to escape”. He is a fighter for the independence of Puerto Rico, a colony of the United States. Politicians, artists, and many people across different ideologies have united to ask US President Barack Obama to pardon López Rivera, who has been called the longest held political prisoner in the Western Hemisphere.

With the congressional midterm elections over, President Obama in his final term in office and the recent announcement that the governments of the United States and Cuba would work to reestablish diplomatic relations after more than 50 years of estrangement, Oscar López Rivera's release might very well happen soon.

For more Global Voices coverage on Oscar López Rivera, check out the following links:

Watson was shunned by the scientific community after he made incendiary remarks about how research allegedly pointed to the conclusion that black people are less intelligent than white people. This was only the latest in a long string of racist and sexist comments made by Watson throughout his career.

Pachter, who is a computational biologist, was being more than a little ironic when he chose the title for his post. The idea was to conduct an informal thought experiment to underscore how absurd Watson's obsession with genetically “improving” human beings really is. Essential to Pachter's thought experiment was the data on Single Nucleotide Polymorphisms, better known as SNPs (or “snips”) collected on SNPedia, an open database of 59,593 SNPs and their associations. The particular data Pachter used was collected by researchers at the Caribbean Genome Center at the University of Puerto Rico in Mayagüez.

Using this genetic resource, Patcher [sic] looked at all the mutations in the database and notes the ones with a phenotypic effect. If the effect is positive, the mutation is beneficial. So the person with the most of the beneficial alleles and the least of the disadvantageous alleles must be the “perfect human”. It just happened that the sample that clusters the closest to this made up point was a woman we collected a sample from three years ago in Puerto Rico. She was therefore designated as the “perfect woman”.

Thus, the part of Pachter's post that gave it its title and that attracted the most attention:

The nearest neighbor to the “perfect human” is [...] a female who is… Puerto Rican. One might imagine that such a person already existed, maybe Yuiza, the only female Taino Cacique (chief) in Puerto Rico’s history.

Leaving aside the historical error (Yuisa was not the only female taíno chief that we know of, nor can she be considered Puerto Rican), Pachter, to his credit, immediately admits that to try to define a perfect human is very misleading, at best.

Oleksyk, who is also a biology professor at the University of Puerto Rico in Mayagüez, felt obliged to offer some clarification in the post cited above, since it was the data that he helped collect that was used in Lior Pachter's exercise, even though he never imagined that it would help to cause such a firestorm on social media:

If the readers only read to the article’s conclusion, where they would notice that author is a fan of the “Puerto Rico All-Star Basketball Unicycle Team” they should ask themselves: How does this Berkeley professor know so much about Puerto Rico, while I live here all my life and I have never heard about such a thing?”

This is because the example is used to show that the author is sarcastic about this comparison. In fact, he is very happy that Puerto Ricans win the comparison, because he feared that the perfect human would be a white male of British descent such as Watson. For him, the exotic remoteness of the “winning” population is a great thing. As long as it were not Anglo-Americans, it could have been elves. Sadly, the audience did not see the subtle message, the resounding “Hurrah! We have won the race of the human race!” has made everyone unable to make a critical judgment.

This is no understatement. Spanish-language news agency Agencia EFE produced an article that treated Pachter's blogpost as a serious scientific study. That same article was later republished acritically in numerous news sites, including one of the most widely read Puerto Rican daily papers, Primera Hora, which, despite having the benefit of an interview with Lior Pachter himself, only helped to spread disinformation, leading many to believe that there really existed such a thing as a genetically “perfect” human and that the closest thing to one right now is a Puerto Rican.

Puerto Rican researcher Rafael A. Irizarry, a professor of biostatistics at the Harvard School of Public Health, who is also one of the most highly cited researchers in mathematics and computer science, wrote a Spanish-language post on his blog Simply Stats out of concern for the mistaken and downright worrying interpretation of Lior Pachter's post in mainstream media. After explaining what exactly the human genome is, how genetic variation works, and concepts like “race” in simple language, he finishes his post with the following thoughts:

In spite of our current social and economic problems, Puerto Rico has a lot to be proud about. In particular, we produce great engineers, athletes, and musicians. To credit their success to the “good genes” of our “race” is not only scientifically absurd, but also disrespectful to these individuals who through hard work, discipline, and dedication have achieved what they have achieved. If you want to know if Puerto Rico had anything to do with the success of these individuals, ask a historian, an anthropologist or a sociologist, but not a geneticist. Now, if you want to learn about the potential that studying genomes has to improve medical treatments and the importance of studying a variety of individuals, a geneticist will have a lot to share.

]]>http://globalvoicesonline.org/2014/12/17/the-perfect-human-doesnt-live-in-puerto-rico-or-any-other-country/feed/13Telling Puerto Rican Stories on the Webhttp://globalvoicesonline.org/2014/09/29/telling-puerto-rican-stories-on-the-web/
http://globalvoicesonline.org/2014/09/29/telling-puerto-rican-stories-on-the-web/#commentsMon, 29 Sep 2014 15:06:48 +0000http://globalvoicesonline.org/?p=491549Esta Vida Boricua [This Boricua Life] is a digital storytelling project which explores the past and present of Puerto Rico through the collection of experiences of people from all walks of life and all ages. At its most basic level, it is “a place to share stories,” as explained in their “About” section. Elaborating on that thought, they write:

Thus, the stories herein are a journey. They offer splashes of color and texture, shades of shadow and light as well as fragments of shape and depth to the existing Puerto Rican mosaic. They unravel the stereotypes and biased images of Puerto Rico and Puerto Rican culture presented in the media and beyond. They speak of a generation of young people struggling under the uncertainty of colonialism —and a backlash from the slow cultural genocide that has taken place since US occupation after the Spanish-American War and the advent of modernism.

The content, which can take the form of writing (in either Spanish or English), video or audio recordings, is entirely produced by volunteers, most of whom are students from the University of Puerto Rico at Mayagüez, on the western coast of the main island. Poets, musicians and writers are also welcome to contribute original content.

]]>http://globalvoicesonline.org/2014/09/29/telling-puerto-rican-stories-on-the-web/feed/0What it Means to be Puerto Rican for Political Prisoner Oscar López Riverahttp://globalvoicesonline.org/2014/09/27/what-it-means-to-be-puerto-rican-for-political-prisoner-oscar-lopez-rivera/
http://globalvoicesonline.org/2014/09/27/what-it-means-to-be-puerto-rican-for-political-prisoner-oscar-lopez-rivera/#commentsSat, 27 Sep 2014 15:17:13 +0000http://globalvoicesonline.org/?p=491440At a time when there are more Puerto Ricans living outside the island, questions on what it means to be Puerto Rican become essential. A letter written by Puerto Rican political prisoner Oscar López Rivera deals with just that.

In it, he offers his views on

Photo from Facebook page Free Oscar López Rivera.

Puerto Rican identities. This letter is the first entry in a newly created section of the online magazine La Respuesta, dedicated to writings by and about Oscar López Rivera. Here is an excerpt:

To be Puerto Rican means to me to carry out all the responsibilities that our citizenship demands. It means to struggle to keep our culture, our language, our history, our idiosyncrasies, our music, our dances, our culinary skills, and our roots alive, and to decolonize our minds and our homeland. It means that we should struggle to protect and preserve everything that defines the Puerto Rican nation.

The diasporic identities aren’t synonymous with Puerto Rican identity. i’m not a Nuyorican. i have lived in this country for over five and a half decades. i speak both languages, but Spanish remains my primary language. In the late 60′s a handful of Puerto Ricans put together a journal called ‘the Rican.’ i thought the name was an error. It didn’t survive because just a handful of Ricans read it and identified with it. i use Spanglish like many other diasporic Puerto Ricans do. i enjoy the poetry of Pedro Pietri and the plays written by Miguel Piñero. i believe many diasporic Boricuas can identify with Spanglish, and we can be sure it will continue morphing and evolving.

Oscar López Rivera has been imprisoned in the United States for over thirty years because of his political beliefs. López Rivera, 71, has been imprisoned for 33 years in the United States charged with “seditious conspiracy” and “conspiracy to escape” for which he received a 70-year sentence. He is a fighter for the independence of Puerto Rico, a colony of the United States. Politicians, artists, and many people across different ideologies have united to ask US President Barack Obama to pardon López Rivera, who has been called the longest held political prisoner in the western hemisphere.

]]>http://globalvoicesonline.org/2014/09/27/what-it-means-to-be-puerto-rican-for-political-prisoner-oscar-lopez-rivera/feed/12A Documentary That Allows Transgender People's Voices to Be Heardhttp://globalvoicesonline.org/2014/07/21/a-documentary-that-allows-transgender-peoples-voices-to-be-heard/
http://globalvoicesonline.org/2014/07/21/a-documentary-that-allows-transgender-peoples-voices-to-be-heard/#commentsMon, 21 Jul 2014 14:00:03 +0000http://globalvoicesonline.org/?p=481137Though gays and lesbians are gradually gaining more acceptance in Puerto Rico, the same cannot be said yet of transgender people. That is why a film like Mala Mala, a documentary in which trans people speak freely about their stories, is so important. The film, directed by Dan Sickles (@dan_sickles) and Antonio Santini, is on the official selection of the 2014 Tribeca Film Festival.

One of the people interviewed for the film is Paxx Moll, a chef who is also a transgender female-to-male. In an article published in La Respuesta, a digital magazine about the Puerto Rican diaspora, he talks to E. J. Dávila about who he is, his experience being part of the documentary, and about the lack of social and medical spaces for trans people in Puerto Rico, particularly for transgender men.

]]>http://globalvoicesonline.org/2014/07/21/a-documentary-that-allows-transgender-peoples-voices-to-be-heard/feed/1“Racism is Not an Issue in Latin America” — Seriously?http://globalvoicesonline.org/2014/07/16/racism-is-not-an-issue-in-latin-america-seriously/
http://globalvoicesonline.org/2014/07/16/racism-is-not-an-issue-in-latin-america-seriously/#commentsWed, 16 Jul 2014 15:16:01 +0000http://globalvoicesonline.org/?p=480367In an opinion piece for the New York Times titled “Latin America's Talent for Tolerance,” Enrique Krauze proposes the notion that Latin America is less prone to racism:

[...] European-style racism — which not only mistreats and discriminates but also persecutes and, in the very worst cases, tries to exterminate others because of their ethnicity — has been the exception and not the rule in modern Latin America.

At the beginning of the piece, Krauze starts with FIFA’s “Say No To Racism” campaign,”a message” that “was particularly directed toward the soccer stadiums of Europe, where there have been many instances of racial taunting and physical aggression by hostile fans against African and other black players.” Just a few sentences later, Krauze is quick to let us know that such racism doesn’t occur in the Americas: “the stadiums of Latin America have for the most part been free of this phenomenon, despite the fervent nationalism and fanaticism of the fans.” I am guessing that neither Krauze nor his Times editor did some actual fact-checking because in just five minutes, I was able to locate several examples of racism in Latin American stadiums.

After pointing out that so-called “European-style racism is what formed Latin America in the first place,” Varela concludes with these words:

When we as Latin Americans admit the truth and confront it head on, only then can real change occur. In the meantime, the literal whitewashing of Latin American history needs to be monitored and when it appears in mass media, we must all do our best to quickly call out this ignorant attitude. The only way to transform society is to ensure that we don’t allow certain opinions to become the standard. We can do better, and we will. One tweet at a time.

]]>http://globalvoicesonline.org/2014/07/16/racism-is-not-an-issue-in-latin-america-seriously/feed/6Puerto Rican Diaspora Calls for Oscar López Rivera's Releasehttp://globalvoicesonline.org/2014/06/02/puerto-rican-diaspora-calls-for-oscar-lopez-riveras-release-from-prison/
http://globalvoicesonline.org/2014/06/02/puerto-rican-diaspora-calls-for-oscar-lopez-riveras-release-from-prison/#commentsMon, 02 Jun 2014 16:14:38 +0000http://globalvoicesonline.org/?p=473444The digital magazine La Respuesta has put together a series of photo galleries that chronicle efforts in Chicago, New York City, and Cleveland to release Puerto Rican political prisoner Oscar López Rivera from prison. Oscar has already served 33 years in prison, an exaggerated amount of time for the charge of “seditious conspiracy.” Global Voices’ coverage in English of Oscar and the ongoing campaign to release him can be found here, here, and here.

In 2013, the Movimiento Amplio de Mujeres (Women's Broad Movement) painted a mural with the intention of creating awareness of gender-based violence. In 2010, the municipal government of San Juan, then under the administration of mayor Jorge Santini, ordered the work to be stopped and imposed fines on some of the women. With the recent change in administration, the municipal government has accepted that the prohibition was unconstitutional, thereby permitting the completion of the mural. Image taken from the blog Movimiento Amplio de Mujeres.

All links lead to Spanish language pages unless otherwise specified.

Many people today still don't understand why it is necessary to talk about women's (hi)stories. The short answer is that only by studying, acknowledging, and valuing women's experiences and contributions to society in all of their diversity can we really talk about the history of humankind. This is why the focus of this post will be on some of the online spaces Puerto Rican women have created to express ideas, creativity, exchange information, or provide resources that further education on women's issues and equality.

Culture and History

The history of the women of Puerto Rico is long and complex, making it impossible to get into here with detail, suffice it to say that it is full of many hard-won conquests that continue to be contested in a still patriarchal society such as Puerto Rico. The following video offers the views of different women about gender-based violence, labor rights, and health in an electoral context.

To learn more, one can check out the online compilation of articles that focus on women found in the social sciences journal Homines, published by the Universidad Interamericana de Puerto Rico, which contains many excellent pieces about women in Puerto Rico. Feminist scholar and journalist Norma Valle Ferrer also published a brief history of women in Puerto Rico “Las mujeres en Puerto Rico” that offers a wealth of information.

Puerto Rican women have a rich legacy in many fields, but we will focus on the arts, particularly literature. From the poet Julia de Burgos (whose 100th anniversary is celebrated this year) to authors working today such as Mayra Santos-Febres and Yolanda Arroyo Pizarro, to authors in the diaspora such as poet María Teresa Hernández, better known by her artistic name, Mariposa [en], women have made an enormous contribution to Puerto Rican letters that been studied in depth mostly since the advent of the feminist movement.

In order to encourage more women to find their voices as writers, the blog Ovarios de Acero (Steel Ovaries) was set up to provide a place where women could publish their poems, short stories and essays in a safe and supportive environment. They also have a very active Facebook page. The about section of the blog states:

It is a space that doesn't judge or requires that you be a professional writer, only that you be a woman and have the genuine desire to create and share. The concept of the blog mainly deals with just one voice, but Ovarios de Acero proposes to gather as many voices as possible. This way we create an anthology of wonderful readings and limitless diversity.

Empowering Women

The blog Mujeres en Puerto Rico (Women in Puerto Rico), by VeronicaRT (@MujeresenPR), offers news, commentary, and links to other content on the web that create awareness about feminism and to empower women. It also has a YouTube channel with content that complements what is posted on the blog. In a similar vein, the blog Poder, Cuerpo y Género (Power, Body, and Gender) by Nahomi Galindo also offers news, commentary, and content from around the web. The blog of the feminist coalition Movimiento Amplio de Mujeres is also an important online resource.

An important effort that has greatly contributed to the empowerment of women is Proyecto Matria, which seeks to help women survivors of gender-based violence and women who are the head of a family with very little income become financially independent and self-sufficient individuals. This non-profit organization operates an array of services in Puerto Rico that include psychosocial services, assistance in starting a microenterprise, and help in getting an education, among others. Its innovative approach transcends the still prevalent notion of casting women as passive victims that receive charity, focusing instead on helping women become not just successful entrepreneurs, but fully accomplished human beings.

Stoping Gender-Based Violence

Gender-based violence is still, sadly, something that costs many women their emotional and psychic wellbeing, and their lives every year. That is why Ada M. Álvarez Conde decided to start an organization that would help educate teenagers and college-age women and men about dating violence, something rarely discussed in Puerto Rico. The Fundación Alto al Silencio (Stop Silence Foundation) organizes group talks in schools all over Puerto Rico to create awareness and gathers resources from around the web on its webpage, blog, and Facebook page that not only provide information on the warning signs of an unhealthy relationship and how to get help, but also statistics, news, and a training program for other people interested in getting involved. Álvarez Conde shares how the Foundation started:

The foundation got its start with over 150 people getting trained at the Annual Convention of the National Coalition Against Domestic Violence, where there are people from all 50 states [of the U. S.] that work with victims and are in charge of shelters, among other community programs. Alto al Silencio is the first organization that deals with dating violence (signs, healthy relationships, self-esteem, community organization) in Spanish and with the Latino community as its primary focus.

Though the women of Puerto Rico share a rich and fascinating history, full of many contributions and victories in the endeavor to forge a more equitable society, much work still needs to be done. More men and boys need to take responsibility and understand that they are necessary components in these efforts and to feel that they, too, can also be considered part of the feminist movement. Because ultimately, feminism is not just about liberating women, but also about creating the awareness that men must also work against patriarchy and sexism. Human rights activist Amárilis Pagán, in one of the posts from her blog Brujas y Rebeldes (Witches and Rebels), says:

When we the women who work on behalf of human rights talk about machismo, we do it fully conscious of what the term implies and who are the ones that move the wheel of violence. We acknowledge, in fact, how machismo also oppresses men by castrating their capacity to feel emotions, to love freely, to choose what to do with their lives without being stigmatized for renouncing the privileges given by their sex at birth. We also acknowledge the economic implications of male chauvinist thought and how that wheel of violence crushes the men and women who live in poverty, in racial and sexual identity inequality. This is why we keep our hopes in education, activism, but most especially in the love that sustains us in times of loss or when institutional and social violence flare up towards our most vulnerable groups.

]]>http://globalvoicesonline.org/2014/01/23/the-online-presence-of-puerto-rican-women-gender-creativity-and-equality/feed/1Christmas in the Puerto Rican Diasporahttp://globalvoicesonline.org/2014/01/06/christmas-in-the-puerto-rican-diaspora/
http://globalvoicesonline.org/2014/01/06/christmas-in-the-puerto-rican-diaspora/#commentsMon, 06 Jan 2014 16:16:31 +0000http://globalvoicesonline.org/?p=450550To mark the end of the “official” Christmas season in Puerto Rico, we share some links to the online magazine La Respuesta, which focuses on gathering the experience of the Puerto Rican diaspora in the United States, about some thoughts regarding Puerto Rican Christmas traditions by two authors living in the diaspora.

You can only imagine the energy inside my abuelita’s tiny two-bedroom apartment during this time of year, the beginning of Advent, when she received her offspring and their offspring and their offspring’s offspring. My family is huge and to give you an idea, my dad is number 17 of 19 children born to Felix and Regina Flores (en paz descanse) in rural Puerto Rico [...]. Yes, you read that correctly. It is not a typo. I come from a large, loving family.

Puerto Ricans have immigrated to the U.S. for over 60 years and for the first time in this century, outnumber the population in Puerto Rico. Puerto Ricans continue to rank highest among Latina/os for mental illnesses and have experienced their share of acculturative stressors. However, studies show that a strong cultural identity and adaptability serve as great protective buffers. My family, like many others, have found ways to hold on to our traditions brought by our ancestors and adapted them for the generations raised in a country with both similar and conflicting values. The holidays have served as a way to relate to one another and bring peace, which helps in times of distress.

Screenshot of what happens when trying to use Tour Builder within Cuba.

Tour Builder, a new service from Google still in its beta phase, is not available for Cuban users due to the restrictions of the economic embargo imposed by the United States on Cuba. Currently, Google Earth, another one of Google's services unavailable to Cuba, allows users to virtually travel to anywhere on earth. Tour Builder “could change the way users tell stories about their own real-life travels,” according to an article published on Mashable.

This tool provoked much interest that soon spread among Cuban users, considering that they would be able to tell their stories through pictures, videos, texts, and Google Earth. Previously, Google had blocked access to Google Earth, Google Destktop Search, Google Toolbar, Google Analytics and Google Code Search.

An article published in Cubadebate [es] in 2012 confirms that the new error screen that impedes the use of Google Analytics within Cuba “is based on rules previously defined with the island.” On that occasion, Google maintained that Cuban users “should not have used the online traffic monitoring service because they were in violation of the provisions of the United States’ commercial embargo.”

Google hasn't been able to explain why it included among the services banned to Cuba Google Analytics, a free product -like its search engine and its email service-, that is web-based and doesn't require downloading by the user, which, in theory, means that no economic exchange or delivery of products has taken place, added Cubadebate.

In November of this year, Google's Executive Chairman, Eric Schmidt, said in an interview to The Wall Street Journal that Cuba was a top priority on his international travel agenda. Currently, Google only permits access to its search engine, chat, email, and other communication services that are authorized in section 515.578 of the regulations of the United States’ embargo on Cuba.

Thousands gathered in Hato Rey, the economic hub of the capital city of San Juan, on Saturday, November 23, to demand the release of Oscar López Rivera from prison. The banner says “Christmas with Oscar back home!” Image taken from the Facebook page 32 x Oscar [es].

November 23 was a gorgeous day. Cool breezes blew through the streets and the temperature was nothing short of ideal on what I expected to be a stifling hot Saturday afternoon. Even the trees on the grounds of the Federal Court appeared to be in on the act, providing shade from the bright Caribbean sun. It was as if nature had conspired to create perfect weather, as if it, too, was somehow in solidarity with the thousands of us who gathered in front of the Federal Court building in Hato Rey, the economic hub of Puerto Rico’s capital city, San Juan, to demand the release of the country’s longest-held political prisoner.

Oscar López Rivera has been imprisoned for 32 years, and counting, by the U.S. federal government in Terre Haute, Indiana. The charge is “seditious conspiracy,” even though he was never convicted of crimes that resulted in death or injury to anyone. His lawyers have reported he has been subjected to inhumane treatment during his incarceration. They have also said he has been singled out for punitive treatment because of his political affiliations, which prompted Amnesty International to criticize the conditions under which which he and other political prisoners were being held.

And yet, through it all, Oscar's spirit remains serenely unbroken. So much so, that in 1999 he refused the conditional clemency offered by President Bill Clinton, saying that it would be like being in prison outside of prison.

Looking around as more and more people arrived to join the march, I marveled at the diversity around me. The campaign to secure Oscar López Rivera’s release from prison is supported by people from all walks of life, of all ages, and across the political spectrum. Granted, the most vocal sector calling for his release is still associated with the political left. Nevertheless, it has reached to a point where it doesn't matter if you're in favor of independence, statehood, or something in between for Puerto Rico.

An effigy of Lady Justice rises over the crowd at the protest to demand Oscar López Rivera's release. Image taken from the Facebook page 32 x Oscar [es].

One of the things that immediately drew my attention was a huge effigy of a Caribbean version of Lady Justice, the famous image of a woman with scales in one hand and a sword in the other that adorns many a courthouse around the world. I remember remarking to my mother how odd it seemed that she wasn't blindfolded. She said, “Well, maybe they decided to remove her blindfold to see if she is more just without it; it certainly hasn't worked so far.” The oft-repeated phrase “a nation/country of law and order” came to mind, and I thought to myself how little that actually had to do with justice and doing the right thing. Perhaps the blindfold that Lady Justice is often seen wearing also blinds her to the injustice of the legal system that she stands for, turning her into nothing more than a legalistic automaton.

As in any decent Puerto Rican protest, the mood was festive. Plena rhythms and artistic creativity abounded. Outsiders often find this strange, possibly because they're more used to protests more serious in tone, more solemn and angry, even when it is a peaceful one. This isn't to say that people weren't serious about what they were trying to accomplish, or that they weren't angry about Oscar López Rivera's incarceration. Rather, this is a distinct characteristic of Caribbean societies, and in a society like Puerto Rico's, which, like all Caribbean countries, has historically been oppressed by an external power that tries to build itself up in the minds of people as the model of all that is civilized, cultured, enlightened, and just plain better, there is no more effective way to deflate that power. Humor and the carnivalesque are, in other words, an important form of resistance.

It was only later, when I thought about the poor coverage the march had received in the international mainstream news, that I realized there was no chopper overflying the area. This was mind-boggling, considering that simultaneous protests were taking place in New York, Chicago, and Washington, DC, and that there were a many as 40,000 people gathered to protest in Puerto Rico alone. René Pérez, from the band Calle 13, had lent his support and was participating in the march held in New York. Calle 13′s tweet became the most relevant topic on Twitter related to President Barack Obama's Twitter account:

I must confess that until about a year and a half ago, I knew practically nothing about Oscar López Rivera. As I gradually learned about him, I couldn't help but feel that the cause in favor of his release from prison should also be my cause, just as his cause to free Puerto Rico from colonial rule is also my cause, one that I pursue in my own small way every day.

Seeing the unity of purpose show, if only for the briefest of moments, on that Saturday afternoon by such a large, diverse crowd of Puerto Ricans renews my faith that someday we may, perhaps, unite to demand the decolonization of Puerto Rico once and for all.

That, I believe, is the secret to the remarkable resilience of Oscar López Rivera's spirit: His conscious, defiant resistance that translates into a faith that rejects the nihilism of self-fulfilling despair, in spite of the temptation to retreat into the seductive silence of comfortable passivity.

Ángel Carrión is a blogger and musician from Caguas, Puerto Rico, currently working on a Master's degree in the History of Puerto Rico and the Caribbean. His current research focuses on the history of music in Puerto Rico and issues related to cultural policy. He has been writing for Global Voices since February 2012. Follow him on Twitter (@angel15amc) and read his blog at dialogolibre.blogspot.com.

]]>http://globalvoicesonline.org/2013/12/07/oscar-lopez-rivera-prisoner-release-march/feed/5Open Letter to President Obama Calling for the Release of Oscar López Rivera Goes Viralhttp://globalvoicesonline.org/2013/12/01/open-letter-to-president-obama-calling-for-the-release-of-oscar-lopez-rivera-goes-viral/
http://globalvoicesonline.org/2013/12/01/open-letter-to-president-obama-calling-for-the-release-of-oscar-lopez-rivera-goes-viral/#commentsSun, 01 Dec 2013 04:15:44 +0000http://globalvoicesonline.org/?p=445225Sociologist, poet, and blogger Guillermo Rebollo-Gil wrote an open letter on his blog to U.S. President Barack Obama in which he calls for the release of Oscar López Rivera, one of the longest-held political prisoners ever. The letter has quickly gone viral over the past two days.

Oscar López Rivera has been in prison for 32 years already, convicted of “seditious conspiracy”, even though it was never proven that he was involved in any violent activity, nor was he convicted of crimes that resulted in death or injury to anyone. After expressing great disillusionment with President Obama's administration, Rebollo-Gil writes:

Over the last three plus decades, five different Presidents have been sworn into office. I wonder if it would be possible for you to consider standing out amongst them. I wonder if you would be interested in imbuing your presidency with historical significance in the form of a direct action to assuage this injustice perpetrated by the American government. I wonder if you would be interested in affirming the fundamental American principle of freedom and grant a pardon to Mr. López Rivera. I really hope so. At all times.

Guillermo Rebollo-Gil's letter has been widely shared on social media and was republished on the online journal 80 grados [es].

Puerto Rico has a complicated and oftentimes contradictory history regarding gender and sexuality. Even though recent initiatives –such as the passing of a bill that prohibits denying someone a job based on gender or sexual orientation, and the inclusion of same sex couples under the protection of the Law Against Domestic Violence– are definitely steps in the right direction, much work still needs to be done to ensure equality.

The anti-discrimination bill mentioned above was originally meant to offer broad protection against discrimination not only in the workplace, but also when applying for and receiving government services. While many have criticized the watered-down version of the anti-discrimination bill that was ultimately made into law, it is still very significant, considering that it was only in 2005 that same-sex relations between consenting adults were decriminalized due to the United States Supreme Court's ruling in 2003 that all state and territorial statutes penalizing same-sex relations are unconstitutional, thus forcing a revision of the Penal Code. Puerto Rico's own Supreme Court had ruled in 2002 that the island's ban on “sodomy” was not unconstitutional.

Earlier this year, however, this same Supreme Court ruled that adoption by same-sex couples is unconstitutional. Ángeles Acosta and Carmen Milagros Vélez, two Puerto Rican mothers who have raised their daughter together since her birth, have been struggling for years [es] to have their family legally recognized. The only way for Ángeles Acosta to adopt her daughter is for Carmen Milagros Vélez, the child's biological mother, to give up all of her rights as a mother to her partner.

Acosta and Vélez have now exhausted every possible legal course of action and can only hope that Senate Bill 437 [es], which eliminates gender distinction as an obstacle for adoption, is signed into law. Theirs is but one of many more Puerto Rican families in similar situations.

These examples are symptomatic of a strong institutionalized reluctance to recognize sexual diversity. This stems partly from politicians’ fear of a very vocal conservative sector, and partly from politicians like the previous President of the Senate, Thomas Rivera Schatz, who has repeatedly expressed unconcealed bigotry [es] towards the LGBT community.

The bisexual community

Bisexuals are one of the least mentioned groups whenever a discussion on LGBT issues arises, rendering them practically invisible. This is, in part, due to the widespread misunderstanding about bisexuality in general.

In order to help remedy this, a Facebook page called B es de Bisexual [es] (B is for Bisexual) was created last year. The page aims to educate people about bisexuality and to serve as a way to reach out to other bisexuals and share resources, information, stories and ideas. Even though it still has barely over 100 followers, it is one of the few resources on the web that focuses specifically on the bisexual community of Puerto Rico.

The trans community

While it its true that some progress has been made towards fostering acceptance of gays and lesbians, the same cannot be said yet of attitudes towards transexual and transgender persons. In general, trans people endure much more discrimination and marginalization than gays and lesbians.

Trans people are pressured to conform to societal expectations of gender and sexuality; those who are deemed too visible will invariably be ridiculed and, in the worst cases, exposed to real danger of physical harm. Many have been victims of hate crimes.

Efforts are being made, however, to create change. Last year, the documentary film “La aguja” (“The Needle”), directed by Carmen Oquendo-Villar and José Correa Vigier, was released at the Puerto Rico Queer Filmfest to positive reviews and has enjoyed numerous presentations both locally and in the United States, the most recent of which is the Venezuelan Art Festival held in New York in November of this year.

The film gives viewers a glimpse into the everyday life of José Quiñones, an artist of transvestism, who gives inexpensive collagen treatments and advice to all who come to see him in his improvised cosmetic clinic which he runs out of his modest home. A teaser trailer of the film can be viewed below:

Support for the community

It is in the realm of culture and citizen media, however, where the strongest voices of support for the LGBT community can be found. The Puerto Rico Queer Filmfest [es], which is celebrating its fifth year this month, is more than just a film festival; it seeks to educate the general public about gender and sexual diversity and forge alliances with other LGBT organizations.

The Facebook page LGBT Puerto Rico is dedicated to creating awareness about LGBT issues and to promote rallies, festivals, and other activities related to LGBT advocacy.

These are only brief examples of the ongoing struggle for visibility and recognition of LGBT rights in Puerto Rico. Many more projects and online resources meant to help the LGBT community and to educate the general public will be explored in future posts of this series.

]]>http://globalvoicesonline.org/2013/11/28/where-does-puerto-rico-stand-on-lgbt-issues/feed/1Puerto Ricans Demand Oscar López Rivera's Release From Prisonhttp://globalvoicesonline.org/2013/11/12/puerto-ricans-demand-oscar-lopez-riveras-release-from-prison/
http://globalvoicesonline.org/2013/11/12/puerto-ricans-demand-oscar-lopez-riveras-release-from-prison/#commentsTue, 12 Nov 2013 14:47:19 +0000http://globalvoicesonline.org/?p=441867The Movimiento Independentista Nacional Hostosiano (MINH), a Puerto Rican pro-independence movement, is organizing a peaceful protest on November 23 to demand the liberation of Oscar López Rivera. López Rivera is the longest-held political prisoner in the western hemisphere, charged with “seditious conspiracy” for his struggle for Puerto Rico's independence from the U.S. López Rivera has already been imprisoned for 32 years in several federal prisons in the U.S. José M. López Sierra, writing on his blog Compañeros Unidos por la Descolonización de Puerto Rico, has posted further details on the protest, along with this video, which shows the highly respected Puerto Rican actor, Jacobo Morales, urging people to join the protest.